Enjoying the changing seasons of photography

It should be obvious that the same landscape scene may be different during different seasons. As a corollary to this rule; a different image will carry a different story. It may be obvious, but I know I'm guilty of shooting a scene once and not returning, especially if I captured a photo that I'm particularly happy with.

One of my earliest photographs remains one of my favorites. The image is of an old one-room school house in the middle of a wheat field in eastern Washington. I shot the image late in the summer of 2010 when the wheat was tall and golden.

School House in the FieldAn abandoned one-room school house sits in a golden wheat field in open ranges of eastern Washington.

The story behind this image is part of the reason I like it so much. We drive by this school several times a year. Driving with my son in 2010 I finally stopped to take a picture. I originally planned to walk out into the field, put the sun to my back and shoot what I imagined would be a "better" angle for the light. A few yards out, my son and I heard what we thought might be a rattlesnake. It was more likely the wind rustling the wheat, but would you want to chance it? So we quickly retreated to the car. Not wanting to waste the stop I snapped a few images of the "bad" side of the building. Today it's a favorite photo of mine.

Since this photo was taken my daughter kept encouraging me to stop when the wheat is green. I finally did just a few weeks ago. The difference in tone and mood is remarkable, and very different from the earlier image. This is a dramatic example of the seasons of photography. Visiting the same scene at different times of the year can be a really interesting exercise.

Best of all, this time there were no rattles.

School house 2A one room schoolhouse in a wheat field in eastern Washington.

Comments

Allison Sheridan(non-registered)

You're right about how different the mood of these two photos is. The second makes the school look more decrepit, and yet there's such a richness to the green it's more hopeful in some way. I still prefer the golden one, the color is fantastic and I like the view lower to the ground. Was there a difference in focal length? I notice significant difference in location of the two power poles.